Drabble Series: Off Record
by myshippingdock
Summary: a series of random, canon-compliant and post-canon compliant ryotomo drabbles. Ryoma's Perspective.
1. Chapter 1

Draable Series: Sounds of Us.

#1: not fine

When Ryuuzaki smiled softly at the guy who somersaulted into her as he eagerly gobbled up the dropped omusubi's on the ground, Echizen wished Osakada was there to see it.

She'd know then like he did that Ryuuzaki Sakuno would be fine.

She would smile bright for someone who was truly interested in her.

She would move on when she realized he just wasn't. It was as simple as that.

He shifted his gaze up, heart constricting as he thought about Osakada.

Someday, she would come around again like she used to.

Someday, she would stop distancing herself from them because of Ryuuzaki.

Someday, she would see that neither he nor Ryuuzaki wanted a relationship with each other.

Someday, she would pop back into their lives and smile bright and soft for him.

Someday, she would see that he _wanted_ her to smile bright and soft for him.

Someday, she would be able to tell he was stuck on her; that he had always been stuck on her.

Someday, she would know that tennis balls jumped around in his tummy when she was around.

Someday, she would get that she was it for him; that she was the one; that she would always be the one.

Someday, she would realize that Ryuuzaki Sakuno was fine without Echizen Ryoma.

But Echizen Ryoma was not fine without Osakada Tomoka.


	2. Chapter 2

#3 tennis analogy (So… Marry Me)

She jumped into his arms with thrice the momentum of a tennis ball, his arms enclosing around her naturally, holding her to him with an equal force, his heart bursting with the knowledge that this was one speed ball of energy he would never want to let go of and hit back to someone else.

She was his- and he wanted her. Forever. The entire package -her whole vibrant, ridiculous self - bouncing pony-tails, exuberant cheers, pigheaded out- of-control antiques, unsettling intensity, surprising intent and focus on given tasks, fierceness, childish temper-tantrums, enthusiasm, and most especially, her annoying tendency to brightly bull-doze her way into the crucial spaces of his monotonous life and disrupt the regular order and discipline of his tennis driven, task-focused, work-oriented circuit.

She was a huge doze of trouble, a ball of excitement and frenzied activity.

He grinned involuntarily. And he was happy about it.

She was just his cup of tea.

In all the right ways.

She was his problem. And he liked that. A lot.

His ball of trouble. He really liked the sound of that.

He could hear his heartbeat ricocheting inside, the way a tennis ball would if he hit it consecutively against a wall.

She felt like a tennis ball, and made his insides feel like an active tennis court. It couldn't get any better than that.

He laughed out loud, earning a strange look from her, a curious gleam in her bright olive-coffee eyes as she gazed up at him, her slender, athletic arms tight around his neck, his own sliding slowly down her back, hands finding the curves of her waist, and moulding to them.

She felt like a tennis ball, and made his insides feel like an active tennis court.

It really couldn't get any better than that.

He grinned back at her like an inspired loon, like he was privy to something she had yet to figure out.

Which was true.

There was a ring burning a hole in his coat

He only hoped he could spit out his tennis analogy in a coherent, decent way when he asked her to marry him.

He stuttered, " .. I—you.. you- make me feel like the insides of a tennis court.. I feel like …you- so, well— so, well, just marry me so so, we can be happy. You- you're happy with me. I – I am happy with you . I- I am happy when I'm on the tennis courts. I- I feel better than that when I'm with you .. so so - just marry me so we can both be happy together, so _I_ can be happy, _in and off_ tennis courts. …We, Us—Tomoka, just say Yes so I can stop rambling miserably-?'

Great. She would hate it.

' Yes! YES,YES, YES Ryoma-Sama!'

'Only because you compared me to your Precious Tennis. I am convinced you love me. And Of course, Because I love you too!'

'You will have to tell me I make you feel like the insides of a tennis Court every night before making love. There is something very sexy about that statement.'

Tennis had him reaching for exciting highs all the time. This was his best high of all time.


End file.
